The Magpies boss said his side have a good spirit and that they know the challenge that Chelsea represents but admits he does not believes they are unbeatable.

He said: “I think mentally we are in a strong position, our confidence is high – one defeat in nine – and I think we have a good kind of spirit and confidence that we are learning lessons along the way.

“This is a new team, we learnt a lesson at Burnley that you have to put the ball at risk and take chances in games and that even against the so-called not-top opposition you still have to risk take – especially when you come up against Champions League teams.

“If you’re not going to take risks then you’re not going to make forward runs and you’re not going to threaten the opposition, then you’ll get beat. So we need to threaten Chelsea.

“It’s going to be a cracking game because they looked terrific the other night. I was there against Tottenham and our fans know that this is a top team turning up.”